The week after that was Campus MovieFest. More than 120 teams were given a handheld camcorder, a Mac Book, and an AT&T phone to make a 5 minute film in a week. Despite impending midterms and other minor inconveniences, me, Roland, and Kristen signed up and took on the task of film making. To be honest, that week was more fun than stressful. Even though we were first time film makers and inexperienced Mac users, we made a film. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Last week was the showing of the top 16 movies. We didn’t make the cut, but I wasn’t expecting to anyway. It was a great experience nonetheless. Also, our friends at Juice Box Boy Productions did win best drama! It was really well done and creativity like that always inspires me.

And with that, check out our film, “Doing Happy”

In order to fix the dent, we first had to remove the bumper. To do this, we removed 4 plastic pop-rivets from underneath the bumper. They will most likely break when you take them out, so buy replacements at an auto supply store for any that do (you can get 2 for a dollar). Then, We had to remove the lining of the trunk to get access to the nuts and bolts holding the bumper to the frame. We needed a 3/8″ 10MM socket to get to four of the harder to reach bolts at the rear wall of the trunk. There were also a few more bolts at each side of the trunk.

After the plastic rivets and bolts were removed, we were able to pop the bumper out. In order to push out the dent, we had to soften the plastic using a hair dryer on high heat. We did this for about 10 minutes, and I pushed it out by hand with a towel to protect against the hot plastic.

After that, we just put the bumper back on, replaced the pop-rivets, replaced the bolts, and reinserted the trunk lining. The result wasn’t exactly perfect, but it was much better than before.

Remember to keep the length of all ringtone clips under 30 seconds or iTunes will not transfer them over to your iPhone.

1. Open iTunes and find the song you want to turn into a ringtone
2. Right-click on the song and select “Get Info”
3. Click on the “Options” tab
4. Check the radio button for start time and enter the time in the song where you want your ringtone to start. Check the radio button for stop time and enter the time in the song where you want the ringtone to end. Make sure that the duration of the ringtone you selected is UNDER 30 seconds. When you are done click OK
5. Right-click on the song again and select “Create AAC version”
6. Locate the file you just created on your computer. You may be able to do this by right-clicking on the file and selecting any variant of “show file” or “show in windows explorer”
7. Replace the .m4a extension with .m4r. Double click on the file to automatically add it to your ringtone collection in iTunes

Notes

• Delete the shortened file you created from your iTunes library
• Remeber to return the start and stop time settings on the original song back to default

This is the most helpful tutorial I found:

Materials Used:

• Magnetic screwdriver
• Paper clip or sim card tool
• Suction cup
• Spudger
• Adhesive strips
• Replacement iPhone 3G OEM Glass Digitizer Screen
• Hairdryer or Heat Gun

Personal notes:

• When using the suction cup to separate the glass from the housing, you need to pull very firmly. However, do not pull too far open because the digitizer is still attached by three cables.
• When separating the frame from the LCD, be very careful when prying. Only pry from the sides and that one corner mentioned in the video.
• If you’re using a hairdryer, you need to heat the glass for NO LESS than 5 minutes. Use a rag or pot holder when peeling the glass off the frame because it gets very hot. Make sure not to warp the shape of the frame.

Before

After

While we can’t all make that kind of cash, the people over at the AdSense blog have given us common folk a chance to get a hand in the Google jar. That’s right – free Google AdSense stickers! Last year, the team printed out a large batch of stickers and apparently, they’ve still got a bunch to give out.

All you need to do is send a self-addressed envelope and the correct postage, and they’ll send a couple of stickers right back. You can find the rest of the details at the Google AdSense blog.

After waiting in line at the AT&T store for almost an hour, I found out that it would take almost $300 to fix it. That’s more than the price of a new phone! Determined, I figured out my own method of fixing my beloved phone.

Step 1: Cover the cracks with Scotch tape so that you don’t cut your fingers on the pieces of glass.

Done! It works just fine now. I need to be careful, though, because I was lucky enough to keep the LCD intact. I’m afraid any more pressure on the screen might damage it.

Ok, ok. So this is only a temporary fix. I’ve actually ordered a new screen and some tools online for less than $30. I’ll put up another how-to post and video when the materials arrive.

Your profile lists what you’re currently listening to, your top listened artists, and your top listened tracks. Everything is tracked by a lightweight app that “scrobbles” your music when you play it through iTunes or any media player, and even scrobbles iPod plays. You can sign up for Last.fm here.

Do it for the Right Reasons

Investing seemed so appealing to me at 16 because I only thought of it as a way to get rich quick. I quickly found out that the instant gratification method of investing was neither instant nor gratifying without hardcore knowledge, research, and a little bit of luck. My first problem was income. As a college student, I barely had money to invest, if any. That meant that I was buying and selling stocks with chump change, and you can imagine the meager returns I was receiving. Having to monitor the highs and lows of the stock market was just not worth it.

After adjusting my methods a little bit, I learned how to make the stock market work for me. It wasn’t about the fast money anymore. Monthly (and now weekly) investments, regardless of stock price, allowed me to put my money in what I considered a long term fund. I don’t plan on taking any money out of it for at least a decade, allowing for a much higher yield given the current trend. I will explain my strategy in another post, but I’ve been making 12% profit on the money I’ve been putting in.

Have a Plan

Seems simple enough. Originally, my plan was to gain a fabulous amount of wealth. Now that I’m almost graduating college, I’m just trying to save up for big things, like a down payment on my first home, buying a car, and other big purchases. I can even save up for retirement. Whatever the reason you are investing, make sure you keep that goal in mind as you invest.

Be Consistent

Investing on a regular schedule was a game changer. Being consistent with my investing allowed my profits to be just as consistent. This was difficult for me at first, because I didn’t have a regular job for the first three years of college. I eventually devoted a very small percent of my budget into my investments, and treated it like I didn’t have the money to spend in the first place. As my income grew, however, I was able to devote more resources into my portfolio.

So these are a few things I’ve learned as a young investor. I’ve read so many articles on how great an early start to investing can be. It’s a powerful vehicle to protect against inflation, and if you get your resources together, I strongly suggest at least giving it a try.